One type of earplug, or ear protector, is inserted deeply into the ear canal and is held in place by friction with the surface of the ear canal. An effective earplug of this type, described in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,487, consists of a cylinder of slow recovery resilient material. Such a plug is used by compressing it to a small diameter in the hand for easy insertion in the ear canal, where it expands for a good fit. However, many people are reluctant to insert devices deeply into their ears.
Another type of ear protector apparatus includes a headband that presses a pair of earplugs into the outer end of the ear canal. This can avoid the discomfort and hesitancy of some poeple to insert devices deeply into the ear canal. However, it is difficult to provide good noise attenuation and comfort with a headband protector. If only a small inward force is applied by the headband then the sound sealing is not as good as for the deeply inserted ear plugs; on the other hand, if a large inward force is continually applied by the headband then the device is uncomfortable. A headband type ear protector which provided large noise attenuation without the necessity of continually applying large inward forces against the ear of the wearer, would have wide applications.